Drabbles Part 7: Ships 2
by ShayLeighJoy
Summary: 30 days of prompts from the writing-prompts-list tumblr
1. Fingertips

Day 1: Fingertips

She remembered his fingertips well. Mostly callused, except for the two he was constantly rubbing together; those two had a slightly different feel. She remembered those fingertips ghosting across her back, or down her arm and she missed them. She knew he would touch her a lot, but she didn't realize how much until the hand was gone.

Felicity wasn't going to sit around and wait this time. She knew that Oliver went to Nanda Parbet, and even if that wasn't where the mountain was, it was where the league was. Roy was in charge of the city, and while Digg had wanted to come along he needed to play Arrow or run comms for Roy, so she was left to go alone.

While she had mentally prepared herself for this journey, both in mourning for Oliver and for the things she might face, she realized that even with everything she'd done to get ready she wasn't physically prepared. It was cold! She continued anyway, but really should have known the league would be expecting someone as Nyssa was waiting about a mile from where the helicopter had landed.  
"Felicity Smoak." Felicity's head shot up, meeting Nyssa's seemingly surprised eyes. "The Demon assumed that someone would come for Oliver, but he did not expect it to be you." Felicity missed some of what she was saying because she was focused on what had come before. Nyssa had said 'Oliver' not 'Oliver's body'; he had to be alive. Feeling reassured and more confident she spoke.

"Well it's me that you get. Are you planning to lead me to where I need to be or shall I find the way myself?" When Nyssa didn't answer right away, Felicity started walking away. Still she was unsurprised when Nyssa jumped in front of her and started leading the way.

Instead of heading towards the mountain, they headed away from it, so Felicity could only guess that they were going to actually go to the Demon's Lair. Nyssa had carefully backed away once they'd entered a room somewhere in the depths of a building that was about a mile from the helipad, leaving Felicity in the room with one other. It didn't take a genius to figure out that this was Ra's al Ghul.

"You've come for Oliver Queen?" He was straightforward.

"Yes." Felicity kept it short.

"Nyssa has spoken of you, but you are not a vigilante. You run the computers for them." Felicity didn't respond. "Oliver Queen is dead." If he expected that to shock Felicity he was disappointed.

"No. He isn't." She was firm in her answer.

"Yes. I drove my sword through his chest and watched him fall off the mountain." Felicity sighed.

"While you may have done all that, he is not dead and I have come to take him home." She paused, wondering if he'd comment again. "I think I know where I'm going so I don't need anyone's help." Ra's eyes narrowed.  
"You may believe this, but you'll wish you hadn't." Felicity shrugged.

"We'll see." She turned and left the room, not waiting for a dismissal.

Of course Felicity did know what she was doing. She went to the mountain and walked around the base looking for a cave of sorts. When she finally found it she was glad because no matter what lay inside, she would have a block from the wind.

Inside there was a small fire, it's blaze warming the hands of a man dressed in black sitting next to it. His head shot up instantly.

"Who are you?" He asked cautiously. Felicity didn't bother with her name.

"I'm here to get Oliver Queen back." He blinked.

"I'm sorry but Oliver is dead." Felicity was getting mad. She was tired of these people trying to lie to her.

"No he isn't. And I know he is most likely in this cave. So are you going to show me or do I need to go find him myself?" She spoke firmly, her voice getting louder and it was just as she finished that she heard another voice behind her.

"It's alright Maseo. She and I need to talk." Felicity whipped around to see Oliver standing just a little ways back into the cave.

"Oliver!" Felicity launched herself at him, barely managing to stop herself when she saw him bracing himself for the pain caused by her impact. Instead she simply reached out grabbed his hands. It'd been too long since she'd touched him, but of course even now it did not feel right. His fingers and palms were cold, nothing like the heat she usually found on her skin.

"I knew you weren't dead." She finally said and he smiled.

"I knew you wouldn't." They stood there for a little while, Oliver's hands slowly warming from her body heat. By the time they got out of there and were on the helicopter back home, his fingertips were warm again and were gently running up and down her arm as they were supposed to be.


	2. Acceptance

She could feel their stares on the back of her head, but she didn't bother to try to look at anyone. Even though she'd gone to school with these kids since elementary school she still had less acceptance then the two new kids who had started at the beginning of the current year. She never really could figure out what the problem was- She didn't try to talk to them; instead she focused on her classwork. Really the only things she could think of was the fact that she was almost always right, and all of her classmates resented her. She didn't want to deal with that so she hid in the library pretending that the things they said didn't bother her.

That was where she was when THEY showed up. Oliver Queen and Tommy Merlyn were headed into the library and Felicity was unsure that she trusted the look that crossed their face. She hadn't really met them before; just seen them around school, but from the rumors she knew that they were the big dogs on campus. Even if they hadn't said anything about her before didn't mean she was going to give them anything to go off of. She moved from her spot in the front to a shadowy corner deep in the stacks, figuring that no one would be back there.

She'd settled into the corner and was reading a book when she heard a voice.

"What are you doing down there?" She jumped and looked up to meet Oliver Queen's blue eyes.

"I'm just hanging out you know. Doing my homework, kind of. I'm definitely not avoiding anyone of course. That'd just be silly. 3…2…1…" She trailed off and took a deep breath.

"May I sit?"

"Yeah. I guess." He settled in next to her before offering his hand to her.

"I'm Oliver Queen. Are you new?"

"No." Felicity was not exactly happy that he hadn't realized she'd always gone to school with him, but apparently it couldn't be avoided. "I've gone to school with you Tommy since kindergarten. I'm Felicity Smoak." She saw the tiniest glint of recognition in his eyes. "Do you actually recognize me?"

"Of course Felicity. I remember you in elementary school, I just didn't realize that you'd grown up to… this." He gestured. "Good this of course. Nothing bad at all." Felicity smiled.

"Glad to see that I'm not the only one who will ramble on."

They sat together for another five minutes before Tommy came looking for Oliver. As Oliver was getting ready to walk away he turned back to Felicity.

"Do you want to meet me for coffee after school?" Felicity bit her lip and nodded. "Great." Oliver gave her one last smile and headed away with Tommy. Felicity smiled to herself. Maybe she would manage to achieve acceptance here after all.


	3. Hurt

**WARNING: MENTION OF BLOOD **_Really only at the beginning, but still!_

Felicity wasn't quite sure how she managed it because it was a lot harder to drive herself to the hospital than she thought. Of course that might have been because her hand was gushing blood.

* * *

When Oliver's phone rang he didn't bother checking caller ID.

"Hello?"

"Is this Mr. Queen?"

"Yeah."

"We have a Ms. Smoak in the emergency room and you were the emergency contact." Oliver tensed.

"I'll be right there."

* * *

Oliver burst into the emergency room and half-ran to the front desk.

"You have a Felicity Smoak in a room somewhere?" The nurse tapped a few keys.

"Room 246. Up the stairs and take a left." Oliver nodded his thanks and hurried off.

* * *

He found her room easily and was happy to see that she was awake and sitting on the bed. He was quiet coming in, but he expected her to sort of sense him, like she always had. She turned and obviously drug-induced smile across her face.

"Oliver!" He approached relatively slowly, trying to figure out where she was actually hurt. Then he saw it. One of her hands was wrapped in gauze so her entire palm was covered. He took her hand carefully in his and started looking it over.

"Felicity. What did you even do?" She was silent for a moment.

"Well… I may have been making dinner for our stay-in date, and then I may have had my hand slip and I may have had a knife in the other hand."

"So you sliced your palm open."

"Yeah." Oliver wasn't sure what to say next- there wasn't really anything he could do. Then he thought about it, she wouldn't have had anyone at her house with her.

"How did you get here?" He could see her face turning red.

"I drove myself." Oliver had to try hard to keep himself from banning her from the kitchen for the rest of her life.

"So you were hurt, and gushing blood, and you drove yourself across the entire city?" He closed his eyes and heard his teeth click as they grinded against each other. He felt her gently touch his face with her good hand.

"I'm okay. Really. Though there is probably a decent mess in the kitchen. I think I may have dropped something. Not really sure though…" She trailed off.

"Can we leave?"

"Not quite. The nurse went to get the forms just before you arrived." As if on cue, a nurse entered the room. She handed the papers to Felicity, who signed them quickly. Hopping off the bed, she grabbed Oliver's hand. "Let's blow this popsicle stand."

* * *

It wasn't until the car ride that Oliver realized something.

"You know you won't be able to type for a little while right? You might rip your stiches." He watched the shocked look cross her face.

"Nooo." She groaned. Oliver had to try really hard not to laugh.


	4. Game

I hope someone loses :)

* * *

"Oh damn. I lost the game." Felicity's voice rang through the comms, leaving the boys on the other side confused. They gave her a moment to say something, but she didn't. Of course just as Oliver opened his mouth to inquire, her voice came back over the comms.  
"Guys! I've got four heat signatures moving towards you, and none of them are labeled. Be ready." Moments later, both Roy and Oliver were locked in combat against what were apparently masked men. Felicity listened to the fighting over the comms, cringing every time she heard one of her boys grunt in pain. Eventually the noise died down, and after a moment Felicity spoke up.  
"Oliver? Roy? You both okay?" At first no one responded, but just as Felicity stood up to go drive out there herself, the comms spoke.  
"Fine." Roy said.  
"Okay." Oliver said. Then Felicity heard the sound of their bikes and knew they were officially on their way home.

* * *

They walked in ten minutes later and almost instantly Roy started talking.  
"What the hell was the thing about some game?" Felicity ignored him at first, glancing over both him and Oliver and after deciding there weren't any bad injuries she turned back to him.  
"You know… the game?" Both boys looked at her, no recognition visible anywhere on their faces. She groaned. "Ugh. Okay. It's one of those games that someone started a while back, I mean I remember playing it in sixth grade, actually that might have been when it started."  
"Felicity." Oliver called.  
"Right. Anyway this game isn't much. Basically whenever you think of the game you lose and have to announce it to the room. Anyone in the room who was playing will lose the game, and anyone who wasn't will start playing. People always had jokes about how to end it… silly stuff like the President making a TV appearance and announcing that he'd lost the game, or I think someone suggested that it had to be the Queen of England."  
"That's stupid. How do not lose every time you play a board game?" Roy asked.  
"Well if you think of game it isn't necessarily the game. The best way I've ever come up with to describe it, is that it kind of appears in your head in all capitals. You know, like THE GAME." She gestured with her hands like she was presenting something just above her head. Roy gave her another look, before handing her his comm and walking away to get changed. Oliver handed her the comm shaking his head, and obviously trying not to laugh.  
"Hey!" Felicity protested when she saw his face. "The game was a serious matter in middle school!" Oliver didn't say anything else, just turned to walk away, still trying not to laugh.


	5. Lips

It was 11:30pm on New Year's Eve, and there was a party raging in the Queens household. Felicity was leaning against the wall alongside one of the doorways. She was nearly 14, but she still couldn't bring herself to move into the main area and mingle… or whatever they were doing. She knew just about everyone there, but she didn't want to try and have a conversation with them. She was barely in high school and most of them (because Oliver, Tommy, and Laurel) were getting ready to graduate in the spring. She found herself half-watching Oliver as he stood with some friends; drinking and laughing. Even after seven years, he was still the one she liked, but she didn't fit in his world anymore. He had grown up, and she was basically the same person as she was at age seven.

* * *

When she heard the clock ring, announcing that it was 11:45pm, Felicity decided she was done. She was alone in there, so she may as well be alone on her own. She didn't bother going upstairs, instead she just moved into the kitchen and started to work on her winter break project that was spread out across the kitchen table. She let herself focus intently on the work- ignoring her surroundings, which was how Oliver and Tommy managed to sneak up behind her and scare her. She'd screamed and turned around to see the two of them standing there, before they moved on to get the champagne out of the refrigerator in preparation for midnight. As they were exiting they paused for a moment.

"Felicity." Tommy asked. "Are you gonna come join us in the other room till the ball drops?" Felicity shook her head. Tommy shrugged and headed away, but Oliver stayed put.

"Why don't you want to come in 'Lissy?" He asked. The name drew a small smile to her face, even after all these years he still was the only one not to call her Felicity.

"I just don't want to. I'm more than happy here." They could hear the countdown starting in the other room and Oliver joined her where she was leaning against the table. She bumped his shoulder with hers.

"Go. I'm sure you have a New Year's kiss somewhere."

"I do." He said. The countdown in the other room reached 3.

3…

Felicity stared at him, trying to figure out why he hadn't moved.

2…

Felicity realized that he wasn't looking her in the eye anymore. Now he was focused on her lips.

1…

Felicity opened her mouth to say something (she couldn't remember what) when the cheering started and all of a sudden Oliver was pressing her against the table with his body, and kissing her.

* * *

Even after the champagne bottles popped, Oliver didn't back off. He had eventually stopped kissing her, but was still close; all Felicity could do was watch him with big eyes. He bent down so his mouth was next to her ear.

"Happy New Year Felicity." He whispered.

"Happy New Year." She stammered out. She saw the smirk on his face, obviously proud of causing Felicity's current blush. Felicity wasn't sure what she was supposed to do next, so she just stood there. Eventually Oliver took pity on her and leaned close again.

"I did have a New Year's Kiss somewhere. She was right here." He tapped her on the nose with a finger. Felicity met his eyes and smiled. And then reached up and pulled him back down; kissing him like she would have if he hadn't surprised her.


	6. Irritable

_Sorry this one is shorter, I have a TON of reading to do for school tonight._

Felicity was seated at her computer when the boys arrived back from their nightly mission. She didn't bother greeting them, instead continuing to focus on her work. Roy walked around to stand behind the computer screen.

"Felicity!" He half-yelled and Felicity jumped, startled.  
"What!?" Roy jumped, not used to Felicity snapping at him. Roy started to speak again, completely missing Digg's gesturing where he tried to get Roy to stop.  
"So what did you find on Thea while we were gone?" He thought he heard Felicity growl, but he knew that had to be impossible.  
"What did I find? Nothing! This takes time. If you think there should be information, maybe you should be doing the job yourself." She turned in her chair to face Oliver and Digg. "I think Roy wants to switch from vigilante to IT expert." She jumped up and stalked off.

"PMS much?" Roy muttered under his breath. Felicity whirled around.  
"What was that?" Roy at least had the sensibility to look worried now that Felicity had completely brought out her Loud Voice, but he still didn't think it through.  
"I asked if the problem was P" Felicity interrupted him.  
"Don't you DARE say the rest of that sentence." Roy finally pulled his foot out of his mouth.

With a final glare Felicity turned and walked away, Oliver close on her heels to make sure she wasn't going to do something like punch a wall (which she did six months ago). Digg approached Roy and threw an arm around his shoulders.  
"I'd suggest never doing that again, but since we know it will… maybe next time you should use the word irritable instead of PMS."


	7. Blush

_This basically covers the in-between of the season 3 premiere, from Felicity and Oliver's arrival at the hospital to just before the kiss._

* * *

Felicity escaped Ray Palmer (god knows why he was here) and finally had made it to the room the hospital had put Lyla in. Smiling and giving Digg a quick hug she moved on to the bed.

"Lyla!" Felicity approached, smiling down at the little pink bundle in Lyla's hands.  
"Felicity." Lyla looked exhausted, but happy. Felicity put her hand on the bed rail.  
"She is adorable." She started thinking about what this could be like…with a certain vigilante. She pulled at her necklace and tried to push the thoughts out of her head. She knew what Oliver was going to tell her the next time he had the chance. They'd come so close, but he was going to back away and try to keep his distance. There wasn't any going back for Felicity, but for his sake she could pretend.

Of course the moment she thought she'd cleared him from her mind (at least that time), she became aware of the fact that he'd approached the room and was talking to Diggle in the doorway.

From Oliver's spot in the doorway he watched Felicity stand over Lyla and the baby with an adoring look in her eyes. He couldn't help the smile on his face and he knew Digg had started to say something else, but Felicity chose that moment to glance back and make eye contact. His smile grew and when Felicity noticed it she started to blush.

When Felicity realized she had started blushing, and Oliver knew it, she turned back around as quickly as she could. A smile like that was not going to be any help in the coming situation.

Eventually Felicity left them so Lyla could get some sleep. Oliver stayed behind for a moment and Felicity grabbed the opportunity to make an exit, and get out of the hospital before Oliver could catch up and try to tell her the things she already knew was coming. She'd made it to the main floor again when she heard him.  
"Felicity." He called her name from the elevator doors. She froze and, even with the hospital noise in the background, she could hear his footsteps as he came up behind her. She took a deep breath and turned around.


	8. Stress

_Just a question: Would anyone be willing to beta a chapter of To Prove Oneself? I love my beta, but I know she's busy atm and I don't want to give her more to do._

* * *

Just by staring at her notes, Felicity could feel time running out. Even now she had three different subjects in front of her; biology, chemistry, and history. These weren't the only subjects of course, but she could only handle so much. Each of the books were open to some page and spread across her bed along with her notes. She was madly switching between taxonomy, compounds, and the start of World War I when she felt him.

Oliver was standing in the doorway, watching his girlfriend searching through her notes, trying to find some specific tidbit of information. The stress and tension were practically radiating off of her, but he still recognized when she'd realized he had arrived. He started towards her, when she jumped up off her bed and practically threw herself in his arms. He held on to her, savoring the moment since it wouldn't last long. Usually finals week kept Felicity relatively distant, but every once in a while she would do something like this in which she usually ended up crying while he held her.

He could tell when the crying started; he could feel the consistent little drops, slowly soaking his shirt. He held her for another moment before pulling back just slightly (he'd learned the hard way about actually stepping back from her when she was like this), and met her eyes.  
"Hey, it's okay." He spoke softly, but she started shaking her head and backed away from him.  
"No it won't be okay. I'm going to fail something and then I'll never get into MIT because my GPA will go to shit and…" She broke off when he wrapped his arms around her again.  
"Baby, you are the smartest person I know. You'll ace everything. You always do." He gave her a little smile. "Do you want me to stay?" Felicity bit her lip and nodded. Oliver wasted no time in walking over to her bed and sitting down before opening his arms for her to come and sit against him. She settled in and snuggled up to him, pressing her face into this shoulder for just a moment before turning back to work.

The information wasn't any easier to grasp, and it only got harder a few minutes later when she felt Oliver's hands rest on her shoulders and gently start rubbing them. It was just a comforting touch at first, until he started working his thumbs against her neck, forcing the muscles to relax just a little. She could feel his hot breath on the back of her neck and the combination of everything had her completely distracted from school and instead focused on keeping quiet, instead of releasing the moan that wanted out. Eventually she did let it out though, and turned bright red of course, and she heard Oliver chuckle behind her.  
"I was wondering how long you were going to be able to stay quiet."

She expected more, but he didn't try. He went back to playing with her hair, and every so often gently rubbing her shoulders again. She worked for another 15 minutes before she decided to take a study break; she turned herself in Oliver's arms, so that she was now straddling his lap and grabbed his face in her hands. Oliver had opened his mouth to say something, but he could see the look in her eyes, so he didn't bother. Instead he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against him as she kissed from his mouth, to his jaw, and then down his neck. He could feel her lips moving against his shoulder and he was confused. He pulled her head away so he could look her in the eye again.  
"What were you whispering there?" She blushed. He smiled.  
"Nothing." He gently pushed her chin up to look her in the eye.  
"I don't believe that for a second." He could see Felicity retreating. "Hey, hey." He brought her attention back to him. "Baby, if you don't want to tell me, then don't. I won't mind."  
"I know." He saw her take a deep breath and knew that she was going to tell him anyway.

She pulled her face away from his grasp and started an intense stare-down with the floor.  
"I said I love you." She mumbled. Oliver froze. He thought he'd heard what she said, but he wasn't sure if he could believe it.  
"I didn't quite hear that." She pressed her head against his shoulder and groaned. He decided to put her out of her misery and take a leap of faith.  
"I love you too." She didn't say anything at first, and he tensed, wondering if he'd heard it wrong. But then she sighed.  
"Thank god." She looked up at him, a smile on her face. "You know, even with finals this week…I think telling you that might have been the biggest stressor." He smiled again, and leaned down until his forehead was resting against hers.  
"Glad I could help you relax." He murmured before he pressed his lips to hers, holding her tightly against him.

Needless to say, studying was done for the night.


	9. Trying

Prompts for writing-prompts-list 30 day series part 2 (ships)

Day 9: Trying

Felicity stood across the room, leaning against a wall. She had come out to the club with a couple of friends, but they all found someone to go home with. She figured she could hang around for another hour, and see where things went. Of course at the moment she was trying to convince herself that it would be a simple task to walk across the room and say hello to the boy standing with his friend at the bar. He was good looking, something her friends would approve of, and even though she'd never seen him before, a suit minus the jacket and rolled sleeves on the dress shirt was the only thing he should ever wear. Unless he chose to wear nothing at all. She could work with that.

She stood around for another couple minutes before deciding that she should just chance it- if she embarrassed herself, she'd just stop coming to this club and everything would be fine. She took a deep breath, and headed over to the bar.

Unbeknownst to Felicity, the boy across the room couldn't stop looking at her- she was just so lost in her own thoughts she didn't notice. He'd seen a lot of beautiful girls try to throw themselves at him, but this girl took the cake. The dress she was wearing was more clothes than most of the girls on the dance floor, but somehow she wore it well enough that it seemed that she was showing too much. He blinked when a hand was waved in his face.  
"Jeez Oliver. Instead of staring at her until the world ends, just go over to walk to her." Oliver threw a look in Tommy's direction.  
"I can't. She's different." Tommy rolled his eyes.  
"Dude. You haven't even met her yet." Oliver shrugged, but then saw the change in Tommy's expression. "Though you might be meeting her momentarily." Tommy started backing away, trying to leave him alone. Oliver was confused and opened his mouth to ask what the hell Tommy was doing when he heard her.  
"Uhm… Hi." She was quiet and unsure, but instantly had Oliver's attention.

When his eyes met hers, she froze.  
"Shit." She mumbled, but the smile on the man's face said she hadn't said it as quietly as she'd hoped. They stood there for another minute before Felicity gave up. "Nope. Can't do it. Sorry to bother you." She turned to leave, but Oliver wasn't going to let her disappear that easily; he grabbed her arm.  
"Don't go." Felicity froze. "What's your name?" She took a deep breath before turning back to face him.  
"Felicity." He smiled at her.  
"I'm Oliver and you are gorgeous." She blushed.


	10. Roses

Felicity was laying upside down on the couch, working on her tablet. For once she wasn't actually doing anything important, just randomly surfing the web; which basically meant clicking through Wikipedia pages and correcting all the terribly wrong information. It had been hours, and at this point she really couldn't remember where she'd even started. She was waiting on a page to load when there was a knock on the door. She jumped in surprise and proceeded to drop her tablet right on her face.  
"OW." It was when she approached the door that she could hear that it was Oliver. She was confused; he had a key, he should be able to let himself in.  
"Felicity! Come open the door." Then more quietly, "Why wouldn't she be here? Where else would she be?" She opened the door.  
"Oliver." She froze. His face was hidden behind a bunch of roses. He shifted the bouquet.  
"Uhm Felicity… why do you have a big red spot on your forehead?" She lifted her hand and gently touched her forehead.  
"Oh that does hurt a little." Oliver gave her a pointed look. "Oh sorry. I was lying upside down on the couch and dropped my tablet on my face." Oliver wasn't sure what to say about that. "Sorry!" Felicity stepped back and let him walk inside. "So why do you have a dozen roses?" She didn't give him a chance to answer. "Did you know that in Classic Rome they used to place wild roses on the door of rooms where people were discussing secret matters?" Oliver put down the flowers and turned.  
"Where the hell did that even come from?"  
"Uhh… the internet on that tablet that fell on my face?" He shook his head and smiled.  
"I'm not even sure what I should say to that." She stepped up and wrapped her arms around him.  
"Uhhhh maybe you should tell me how much you love me?"  
"Maybe." He murmured leaning closer. He pressed his lips to her and the roses were forgotten.


	11. Goosebumps

Felicity was curled up on the couch when she felt a familiar prickle on the back of her neck. Rolling over on the couch she found the Arrow standing on her deck looking in through the glass. Pulling herself up, she walked to the door and slid it open.  
"Hi." She spoke softly. He wasted no time in pushing her up against the wall and kissing her hard.  
"Hi." He murmured.  
"What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be patrolling right now?"  
"Maybe…but I was in the neighborhood." He grabbed her wrists and pulled them up above her body, leaving her taunt against the wall. "Plus we were headed back in anyway." He broke their eye contact, moving to kiss down her jaw until he reached the spot just below her ear that never failed to make her gasp. She tried to say something, but moved down her neck, lightly nipping and sucking on the same spots, leaving goose bumps in his wake."

At some point in his attention giving, he released her hands, leaving her free to wrap herself around him, and dig her nails into his neck or back whenever he hit a particularly sensitive spot. Now, instead of his hand holding her against the wall, he was pressing his hips against hers, keeping her solidly on the wall. Felicity tried to keep her head on straight; she really wasn't sure why he was chancing being spotted with the Arrow suit, but he was extremely distracting. If he wanted to continue this, she certainly had NO problems, but ever since he got back from Tibet he'd been marginally more attached to her, and worrying less about other things. Like people making the connection between him and the Arrow suit.

Idealess of ways to get him to actually listen for a moment, she went his route…just harder. So she bit his collarbone as hard as she thought she needed to for his attention.  
"Ow." He pulled back from her. "What the hell?" Felicity sighed.  
"Look. I know we decided to get together and to do things like this, but I just want to make sure that you realize how dangerous you're being." Felicity bit her bottom lip and looked down. She heard Oliver growl, just before his hand gripped her chin and tilted it up so she'd have no choice but to look him in the eye.  
"I swear Felicity. That only makes me want to bite it for you." Her eyes widened, even though she really shouldn't be surprised. She should have realized though, that Oliver's growling would make the goose bumps reappear on her arms. "But yes. I know exactly what I'm doing." Felicity wasn't sure where that predatory look was going to take them. He removed the space between them and leaned down to whisper in her ear.  
"Or I should say, I know exactly what I'd like to be doing." He pulled away slowly, gently tugging on her ear with his teeth. Felicity was just staring open mouthed. She knew he wanted her, but he was never so… brazen about it before. She was pulled from her thoughts when he started nuzzling her neck.  
"Come to bed." Felicity couldn't do anything but nod and allow him to pull her into the next room.


	12. Chocolate

Every month, Felicity would stop at the store and pick up a giant bag of chocolate. It was practically tradition at this point that she'd get the bag and separate it out into hiding places; some was in her kitchen, and her QC desk, and her Arrow desk and probably somewhere she didn't even remember. There was never a problem until she and Oliver started dating.

She was cooking in the kitchen when Oliver joined her…and headed directly to her cabinet. She doesn't realize right away that it was _that _cabinet until he pulled out one of those mini Hershey bars.  
"Whoa." She grabbed his wrist. "What exactly do you think you're doing?" He froze.  
"I'm getting some chocolate?"  
"What…why? You know about my candy stash?" Oliver hesitated in eating.  
"Well a couple of them." Felicity smacked his arm.  
"Come one! I gave you guys all the peanut butter ones so they wouldn't be here! Leave mine alone!"  
"But there are so many! Please?" He pulled those big blue puppy dog eyes on her. When she groaned he smiled, knowing she'd given in. He pulled her against him before she could move away.  
"Did you know I hate you?" Oliver chuckled.  
"No you don't. You love me. It's why I'm eating your chocolate." Felicity stuck her tongue out at him. She pulled away from him.  
"Now. I have to go move around all of my stashes."  
"You know I'll find them right?" She glared at him, "I am the resident vigilante. My second job is finding things." He paused. "Kind of."  
"Oh I'll find a way. Next time won't be easy, so I hope you're ready to work for it." Oliver saw that fiery glint in her eyes and pulled her back to him.  
"Oh I'll work for it." He murmured in her ear, before gently pulling on the lobe with his teeth. She gasped before she managed to speak.  
"Well." She stepped back. "I have some business to attend to." Felicity grabbed the bag from the cabinet and walked out of the room. Just as she left Oliver yelled to her.  
"I know about the one in bedside table, and behind the TV, and I think there is one more." He could hear her grumbling in frustration in the other room and he couldn't help smiling. She was way too easy sometimes.


	13. Dancing

Felicity was leaning against the wall in a hallway just off the reception hall, watching all the other people dancing in front of her. The couples were spinning in front of her and she was enjoying watching their faces. Some of the couples looked at each other, completely smitten with each other, and then there were the couples in which at least one of the members looked like they'd rather be anywhere but. She was so focused on those in front of her, she didn't hear Digg approach.  
"What are you doing back here Felicity?" With a sigh and a smile she turned around.  
"I'm watching everyone enjoying themselves." Digg chuckled.  
"Well there is a certain grumpy archer out there who finally managed to escape the clutches of his dance partner, and I'm pretty sure you're who he'd looking for."  
"We'll I'm happy here. If you see him, feel free to send him over." Felicity turned back to the dancing couples.

Since Digg had left and was probably back to Lyla by now, she wasn't surprised to find Oliver coming around the corner and walking up to her.  
"Hey." Oliver approached her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "What are you doing back here?"  
"I needed a little quiet so I came here."  
"I was worried you'd left me." Felicity smacked his shoulder.  
"Oh shush. If I was going to leave you, I'd probably have done it BEFORE we got engaged. Or maybe, even, before we, you know, got married." She wrapped her arms around his neck. He pulled her flush against him and kissed her.  
"As much as I'd love to stay back here with you… people are going to be looking for us. And unless you want them assuming we stepped away for a quickie…" Felicity pulled away, only holding his hand.  
"Hey, Oliver. You want to dance?" Oliver laughed.  
"Sure."

She was only able to take one step before he pulled her back and kissed her again.  
"God. I love you." Felicity smiled.  
"I love you too."


	14. Teeth

"Oliver!" Felicity screamed through the comm. He had been updating her on the situation in the abandoned warehouse before she heard him grunt and go silent. Digg's voice came over the comm.  
"Felicity. What's wrong?"  
"Oliver's gone silent. I don't hear anything, so I'm pretty sure he's alone, but he needs help!"  
"Roy and I are on our way."

It took half an hour for Digg to get an update back to Felicity.  
"We've got him. On our way home now." Felicity froze. "Make sure the med bay is clear." Felicity started to interrupt, before Digg stopped her. "I just need it clear. No big injuries or anything. Just need to clean off some scrapes and scratches." Felicity took a deep breath.  
"Okay. I'll have it ready."  
"We'll be there in 5."

It had been just a couple nasty scratches, so it didn't take long for Digg and Roy to head out, and then the dam broke. Felicity practically jumped Oliver when he came back to where she was sitting. When she'd first grabbed him, he'd frozen, but just for a moment before kissing back with just as much fervor. It wasn't less than 15 minutes before Oliver pulled back just a little.  
"Come home with me." Oliver looked surprised that she'd be that bold. She sensed that he was going to say no, so she didn't give him a chance to. "I didn't mean it like that! You don't have to stay the night… or you could stay and sleep with me… well not sleep with me." She stopped. "Well actually I may have meant it like that." Oliver laughed.  
"What brought all of this on?" Felicity sobered at his question.  
"I was worried about you out there tonight and I decided I was done waiting. So I threw myself at you like some drunk girl at the club." She paused. "Was that mean?" Oliver couldn't help chuckling and it made Felicity smile to see him like this. "Soooo are you going to come with me? Or are we pretending that all this never happened?"  
"Oh no. I'm coming with you." She led him out.

Felicity woke to a lovely warmth and light. Opening her eyes she could see that the sun had risen and made decent progress in the sky. The clock read 9am. She could feel Oliver's arm under her head and the other wrapped around her waist, and while she was comfortable, she rolled over in his arms and nuzzled into his neck. His arms tightened around her.  
"Morning." He murmured. She said good morning too, but it was muffled by his shoulders. He adjusted their position so that he could see her face and then leaned in. He was just a couple inches from her lips when she squeaked and turned her head so his kiss landed on her cheek. Oliver wasn't sure what to do. This wasn't anything he'd ever expected.  
"Felicity, what's wrong?" He was frowning. She mumbled again, and all Oliver could see was her face getting red. He brushed his hand along her cheek before gripping her chin gently, and pulling it up. "What was that?" She bit her lip.  
"I said that you couldn't kiss me…because I hadn't brushed my teeth yet." Oliver couldn't help the laugh that escaped.  
"I can't say that was something that occurred to me."  
"What if my breath smelled terrible?"  
"You could never smell terrible." She blushed again.  
"Obviously you have never been around me after Digg and I work out." Oliver placed his hands on her cheeks.  
"Felicity. I am going to kiss you. And we can establish once and for all if you have morning breath." She tried to move her head to hide in his shoulder again, but she couldn't move. As soon as he'd captured her lips he moved his hands to wrap around her waist.

It was minutes later that he pulled away.  
"So survey says?" Felicity prompted.  
"I'm pretty sure there isn't any morning breath… but I may need to check again." She laughed, only being cut off when Oliver swooped in to capture her lips with his.


	15. Garden

It was a beautiful summer day, and yet the kids were forced to stay inside. There were several men working out in the backyard, apparently designing and planting some trees and flowers to fil all the space they had. The project had started earlier in the week and now all they could do is watch and wait. Luckily they'd heard that the worker men should be done by lunchtime. They'd watched all morning, and now, just after they finished lunch, Laurel noticed that the men were cleaning up their things and getting ready to leave. They gave it five minutes before they went outside.

It didn't take long for them to separate off to wander through the new garden. And it took even less time for Felicity to get lost. There were a lot of new trees and bushes and shrubs, and as she was only 5, most of them were much taller than her. The deeper she went, the more turned around she got, and honestly the more freaked out she got. She's started to really worry when she first noticed something alongside a shrubbery, and another appeared with every corner. They made her nervous, but she wasn't sure why. Of course it wasn't a problem until she reached a dead end. When she turned back the way she came everything looked the same. She may be a genius usually, but now she was just a scared 5 year old.

She settled herself into a corner and waited; someone would come find her eventually. Finally she heard it.  
"Felicity!" A couple voices rang out from somewhere in the garden. She wasn't quite sure how to make sure they'd hear her…so she screamed. She could hear someone coming, but she still kept back to make sure- it was what Oliver and Tommy always reminded her to do. As soon as she recognized Oliver as rounding the one rounding the corner, she launched herself at him.  
"OLIVER." Even without a warning he still caught her. Felicity buried her face into his neck. He was gently petting her hair until she calmed down. He let go of her.  
"Are you okay?" She nodded. "You ready to go inside?" She nodded more vigorously. He took her hand and started to pull her back to the house, except she froze at the first corner.  
"I don't want to go this way. There are the little men in the bushes." Oliver was confused. Glancing around he realized what she was talking about.  
"Lissy, do you mean the gnomes?" Felicity sighed, sounding frustrated with him.  
"No. Gnomes aren't real!"  
"They're just statues, it's okay."  
"I still don't want to go by them."  
"Okay." He held his arms out. "Will it be okay if I carry you and you can hide your face? We'll come out here tomorrow when it's lighter and have another look." He watched her as she nibbled on her bottom lip while thinking the plan through.  
"Okay." She let him bend down in front of her so that she could climb on his back. Once she was settled with her arms around his neck and his hands under her thighs, she buried her face in his neck.

When he took the first step he could feel her tense, but she didn't comment so he kept going. It was around 5 minutes later that he stopped again.  
"Sweetheart we're back." He could feel her just barely lift her head and take a quick look around.  
"Okay. Are you going to put me down?" He paused, knowing that he should, but he wanted to keep protecting her from the wrath of her parents.  
"Nah. How 'bout I give you a lift up to your guest room? Apparently everyone is spending the night."

He got her up there and deposited her on the bed. It didn't take her long to get all ready to go to sleep and when she did snuggle under the blankets, Oliver didn't really want to leave. He was more than happy to stay here for a bit before going to bed.  
"Is it okay if I stay here with you for a little?" He whispered. He could just barely see her nod, but it was enough. He kicked off his shoes and climbed onto the other side of the bed. Almost instantly Felicity had moved so that she was snuggled up to his side. She fell asleep shortly after, and then, before much more time had passed, so did he. When his mother realized he wasn't in his bed she was angry-until she found him curled up with Felicity. She didn't have the heart to wake him.


	16. Snow

All of the parents had a big meeting, early in the morning, so Tommy, Laurel, Sara, and Felicity had spent the night. Everyone slept soundly, snuggled into their blankets, until the yelling and stampeding started. The parents were all up and they were the ones who informed Tommy that school was cancelled. Now Tommy was running around the house waking everyone up.  
Currently he was running around the kid's wing yelling and pounding on all the doors.  
"YO. OLLIE. GET UP. IT'S A SNOW DAY. LET'S GET OUT THERE." Of course his yelling woke everyone up right off the bat, but that didn't stop him from pounding on all the doors. After he'd pass a room, it would only take about a minute for the occupants to hear him make his way back. Felicity had woken up as he was coming up the stairs, yelling for Oliver, and now she could hear him about two doors down talking to Laurel so she rolled over to try sleeping again. She was warm and comfy, there was no reason for her to move yet. She'd just settled back in when there was a knock on the door. It creaked just slightly as it was opened.  
"Felicity." She heard Oliver speaking softly, trying not to wake her up. She wasn't surprised it was him. This past year he'd attached himself more firmly to her and had become a constant. She rolled over.  
"I'm awake." He walked into the room, shutting the door behind him.  
"Are you going to get up and come play outside with us?" She nodded. "You going to get up now? Apparently there is chocolate chips pancakes down in the kitchen." Felicity shot up so she was sitting on the bed.  
"Really?" Chocolate chip pancakes were her favorite and her parents made them so rarely.  
"Yeah. They were just taken off the stove." Now, Felicity had moved herself out of her bed.  
"I'll be right back." She disappeared into her ensuite and emerged less than five minutes later.  
"Are you ready?" She nodded vigorously and followed him downstairs.

After breakfast was finished all the kids gathered up their jackets, boots, gloves, scarves, and hats and headed outside. They spent hours out there, building snowmen, having a snowball fight, and making snow angels…or whatever shape you could see the boy's as. Eventually they gathered everything up and headed just outside the manor gates to the top of the hill for sledding.

It was a solid 90 minutes later that Quentin appeared outside the gate and called them all inside for lunch. They were happy to go eat and enjoy the heat indoors. That didn't keep them inside though; almost as soon as lunch was done and they were relatively warm again, they headed right back outside, leaving their parents to watch the rosy cheeked children enjoy their day off.


	17. Dinner

Usually Felicity was okay with the fact that she and Oliver didn't work at the same place anymore (not that she didn't wish they did), but today… today she really wished that they were still on the top floor of QC. If that were the case then they would be going to dinner together, not leaving her standing alone, waiting on his arrival. And if she wasn't alone in the lobby of Table Salt having a conversation with two old high school classmates.

Originally she hadn't seen them, but when Ava called out her name, she realized who it was and made a face; and then turned around with a smile.  
"Ava." She looked to the man next to her. "Ethan. What are you guys doing in Starling? Last I heard was that you got married but chose to stay in Vegas." Ava nodded vigorously, before launching into what was probably a life story.  
"Well we had originally, but now Ethan got a new job her in Starling, so we are moving here at the end of the month."  
"Oh. Where is your new job?" Ethan was about to answer, but Ava pushed her way in.  
"At Palmer Technology!" Felicity froze.  
"Really? What department?"  
"Yeah! He is working in the legal department." Then Ava clapped her hands together in excitement and Felicity could have died of embarrassment when everyone looked their way. Finally Ethan stepped in to speak.  
"Actually it isn't official yet. On Monday I have a meeting with the CEO and Vice President." Felicity cringed. She really needed to get around to setting up notifications for _her_ meetings.  
"Oh. Well good luck with that." They were silent for a moment until Ava's jaw dropped. Felicity felt the usual tingle that accompanied Oliver, so she knew what was coming.  
"Oh. My. God. Don't look now Felicity, but Oliver Queen just walked in and is headed this way." Well apparently that secret wasn't going to be a secret anymore.

She could feel Oliver approaching her and didn't even jump (for once) when he placed his hands on her waist and kissed the side of her neck.  
"Hey." He murmured in her ear.  
"Hi." She could practically could feel Ava vibrating with the need for an introduction. She was tempted to ignore it; until Oliver's etiquette stepped in. He stepped forward and held out his hand. "Hi. Oliver Queen. And you are?"  
"Ava Thompson and this is my husband Ethan." He acknowledged them both before taking a step back to wrap an arm around Felicity's waist.  
"So how do you know Felicity?" Felicity didn't think Ava could get perkier, but apparently she could.  
"We went to high school together. Ethan and I are actually moving to Starling City at the end of the month!" Felicity moved her hand to cover his and squeezed; trying to get his attention without scratching his hand with her nails.

Luckily he noticed, and got the message.  
"Well our table should be ready, so we have to go."

"Of course!" She turned to Felicity. "It was nice seeing you." Felicity flashed her a smile and started to follow Oliver before she was pulled back by Ava's grip on her wrist.  
"_Are you dating Oliver Queen?_" Felicity bit her lip, unsure of how she wanted to respond, when Oliver returned.  
"Really it should be more, 'Am I dating Felicity Smoak.'. It took me forever to get her to go out with me." Ava's jaw somehow dropped lower than it had before. He leaned down and kissed Felicity's hair. "Yeah I'm pretty lucky." Felicity was glad to see he had a real smile on instead of one of his fake ones, but she still wanted to go.  
"Oh I believe that's our waiter over there. Right Oliver?" Oliver nodded, understanding her the message.  
"It was nice to meet you two." He smiled at Ava and shook Ethan's hand. "Enjoy your dinner."

As soon as they were far enough away Felicity finally took a deep breath.  
"Sorry about that. Ava is a bit of… a gold-digger. Is that the nicest way to say that?" She didn't give him chance to answer. "I mean we weren't exactly friends in high school… Ethan was okay, but Ava was kind of a bitch. I think she was surprised to see me here. And with you. Plus on Monday Ethan apparently has a final interview at Palmer Technology with Ray and me." Felicity groaned. Oliver stopped her before she could sit at their table and pulled her into a tight hug.  
"It'll be just fine. It's only Friday night, so you still have a couple days. Let's just eat dinner, forget about those two, and once we get home you can cuddle up while we watch a movie or something?" He placed one hand on her cheek. "Okay?" Felicity leaned into his palm, closing her eyes, and releasing a sigh.  
"Okay."


	18. Family

_I was going to take this another direction... but I had homework... and the other one would have taken a lot longer._

* * *

It was supposed to be a simple patrol, so no one was really worried that Oliver was out on his own. Felicity and Digg were still in the lair keeping eyes and ears on Oliver. Then Diggle's phone rang and everything went to hell.

In the back Digg half-yelled into the phone.  
"What? Should we be really worried?" Felicity turned and watched Digg pace around the lair before hanging up. Digg turned to face Felicity.  
"Are you going to be okay? I really need to get home. Lyla says that Sara's sick and she's kind of freaking out."  
"Yeah well you seem to be freaking out too." Digg gave her one of his rare looks. "Just go. Oliver and I will be fine."  
"Thank you." Diggle half-ran out of there. The door slammed behind Digg and there was a crash in the back (Felicity could only assume that something fell off that pile the boys called a weapons rack). It was because of this that she missed the gunshot and Oliver's comments afterward. All she caught was the 'I'll be there in 5 minutes.'

Five minutes later, when Oliver arrived, Felicity could see that something was wrong right off the bat. Running up to him, she found the wound.  
"Oh my god. You got shot? How?"  
"A guy tried to jump me… wait. I told you I got shot. I asked you to tell Digg to prepare for some stitches." Felicity started worrying her bottom lip. "Where is Diggle anyway?"  
"Well… there was kind of a family emergency. So he took off." She could see the worry clouding Oliver's face so she kept going. "It's okay though. Sara is sick and it's the first time and Lyla was all worried so I sent him home." Oliver nodded and followed Felicity over to the cabinet where they kept their medical supplies.  
"Well…" Felicity tried to stall by focusing on the cabinet, but it didn't fly.  
"Felicity."  
"Ugh. Well that pile of weapons you have in the back fell over. And made a huge crash. So I kind of may have only heard the last sentence you said into the comms." Oliver sighed.  
"I'm sorry to be the one to do this to you Felicity, but I'm going to need you to do the stitches. I can't reach it."  
"Great… Do I even want to see the wound? I'm guessing you found something to use for pressure so you didn't bleed out or anything?" He gave her a look that could only be described as bitch face. "Okay." She threw her hands up. "Let's get this over with."

It took a solid 20 minutes for the wound to get cleaned and closed. Oliver learned that while Felicity may hate needles with a burning passion, she wasn't half bad at stitching. So he trusted it. Felicity on the other hand was just glad that she didn't have to try to find the bullet…and then get it out…and then do the stitches. That would have been just a little (way) too much.


	19. Crying

The school year had ended on Friday, and now on Monday, Felicity woke up more excited than she'd been in a long time. The other kids finally were done and she wouldn't spend the day alone.

When the other kids were off last year, Felicity was barely two, and her mother had kept her inside, saying she wasn't old enough to play outside without adult supervision. But those days were over; her mother was finally going to let her play outside.

When they arrived at Queen Manor, she could already hear the kids in the backyard, but her mother wouldn't let her go yet.  
"Mommy! I wanna go outside!"  
"Felicity. Hold on. At least wait until we get inside." Felicity groaned loudly, but followed her up the stairs anyway.

Oliver's mom answered the door.  
"Donna." She said with a smile. "Oliver. Felicity's here." She yelled back to the inner depths of the house. Oliver appeared in the foyer and Felicity's mom wasted no time.  
"Oliver. You're in charge of Felicity. Please keep a close eye on her."  
"Of course Ms. Smoak." He turned to Felicity, holding his hand out. "Let's go Lissy."

Outside they found Sara and Tommy having a race while Laurel stood on the side lines. They arrived next to them just as Sara kicked Tommy's ass and then Tommy wandered off grumbling.  
"Shall we have another race?" Sara was practically bouncing up and down. "Maybe from here to the end of the garden and back again. Who's in?"  
"I am." Felicity announced.  
"I need a rematch." The three of them lined up at the start of the garden path.  
"I'll go down to the other end and make sure no one cheats." Laurel threw a look in Tommy's direction.  
"Me?" He exclaimed. "I would never do that." Then he gave one of his signature smirks.  
"I'll stay here to declare the winner and start the race and everything."

The race started out as it should; Sara jumping into the lead with Tommy just barely behind her. Oliver was impressed to see that Felicity was actually doing a decent job keeping up with them. And then they rounded the corner and a minute later there was a yelp. Before Oliver realized what he was doing he'd already made his way halfway down the path. As he rounded the corner he found Felicity sprawled on the ground.  
"Felicity." He reached her and kneeled down to find her curled up and crying. "Sweetheart can you get up?" She kept crying. "Alright." He picked her up and carried her back to the house. Of course with his luck, Felicity's mother had just walked into the kitchen.  
"What did you do to my baby?" She was horrified.  
"She fell on the garden path and scratched herself up." Donna tried to take Felicity from him, but she only wrapped her arms tighter around his neck.  
"Baby come here. I'll get you cleaned up."  
"No." Felicity murmured into Oliver's neck, where she was currently hiding her face. "I want Oliver to do it." Donna looked like she might get angry for a moment, but she didn't.  
"Okay. Just be careful." She sighed and walked away. In the kitchen Oliver helped her up onto the island and went to get the first aid kit from under the sink.

Felicity was good about not squirming, so it didn't take long for him to get her cleaned up. After he helped her back off the counter he leaned down again.  
"Let's go see your mom. She'll want to make sure you're okay." Felicity bit her lip. "We can go back outside after if you want." Felicity's expression did a 180. "But no more racing." She nodded vigorously, so he took her hand to see her mom before leading her back out to the other kids.


	20. Anger

The Undertaking had taken a toll on Team Arrow, separating the three members for a couple days. Oliver went to find Thea and check on her and help her mom, Digg was with Carly, and Felicity was hiding away in the IT department at Queen Consolidated. After two days Digg grew tired of worrying about Oliver and Felicity, so he called them and set up a meeting at Big Belly Burger for the next afternoon.

It was a somber affair, but both of them were on time and neither of them looked like they were doing well. They joined him at his table.  
"Glad you arrived on time. It looks like it might start storming out there." They agreed, but didn't add any comments. "Okay then guys. Fill me in on what's been going on." Digg glanced between the two.  
"I've been jumping between keeping Thea company at home, and arranging meetings and lawyers, etc. for my mom. There hasn't really been anything else I can do right now." Neither Felicity nor Digg mentioned putting back on the Hood- they knew why that wouldn't happen right now. Digg turned to Felicity.  
"What about you?"  
"I've just been hanging around Queen Consolidated. Doing some regular stuff there, and a little bit of work on the lair's computers." She saw the look the boys were giving her. "I didn't go down there! I've been doing it remotely." They both visibly relaxed- until there was a thunder crack, and the rain started; the tension was back.  
"Okay." Digg stressed the word. "I'm going to give Carly our order and wait for it." He left the two of them sitting on opposing sides of the bench.

It was almost awkward for them, even though they hadn't done to each other. They were both locked so deep in their guilt that it created an awkward silence- until the next thunder clap. At the sound Felicity jumped and made a little squeak, glancing around quickly to see if anyone noticed. When she thought she was safe, she started to relax again; only to tense again. As the storm rolled in even closer, and the next time the thunder came through Oliver finally realized what was going on.  
"Felicity." She didn't answer. At the moment, for a genius, she wasn't that smart. She was hoping that if she pretended she didn't hear him, he wouldn't notice it. Of course it didn't work though- not even close. "FELICITY."  
"What?" Oliver sighed, happy that she finally acknowledged him.  
"What's wrong?"  
"Nothing." He stared her down, confused as to the way she was acting. When Felicity realized he'd figured it out she broke eye contact; afraid of whatever his face was going to show. She expected to find anger, especially after the week he'd had, but it wasn't even close. He looked…scared.

Oliver couldn't believe he'd missed it. While he was worrying about his own problems, he'd completely ignored the potential effects that the Undertaking would have on her.  
"Felicity. I am so sorry." He moved to sit next to her. "I didn't even think about the aftermath for you and Digg." She stopped him.  
"You had plenty to worry about."  
"You didn't get out of the foundry right away did you? You stayed as long as you could and now the thunder triggers a reaction." She opened her mouth. "Oh no. I understand- I've gone through the same thing." She managed to give him a small smile.  
"It isn't really that. You of all people should understand my problem. It's all my fault that the East side of the Glades was destroyed. I should have known that Merlyn would have a back-up and I had a hand in those 503 deaths." Oliver grabbed her shoulder, stopping her.  
"I'm sorry. I'm not sure what to tell you. You shouldn't feel bad…but you won't believe me."  
"Can you just stay with me? Things will go bad here quickly if you disappear.  
"I won't leave."

Two days later he left, leaving Thea, Felicity, and Diggle alone.


	21. Silent

Oliver stood in his room, getting his tie straight in the mirror. The nerves were creeping up on him more and more with each passing minute and soon he was going to run out. In just 30 minutes he would be meeting Felicity at the altar. Anytime he thought about actually being at the altar and saying their vows, he was reminded of his proposal.

He'd proposed in the lair- it really one of the most important aspects of their lives together. Of course when he'd asked it was just the two of them and of course Felicity had fallen silent as soon as he got down on one knee, except then she hadn't said anything for the next five minutes. It took some effort to bring her back to the room, but eventually he was successful and she'd finally given him an answer; she'd said yes.

Now, 18 months later, it was happening. And it was now that he had to thank Ra's Al Ghul for killing him- if he hadn't Oliver wasn't sure that he and Felicity would have ever gotten together. Not that that was easy either. It had taken a full two weeks before Felicity would even talk to him and a month after that she'd finally agreed on giving a date another try. He was pulled from his thoughts by a knock on his bedroom door.  
"Who is it?" He called.  
"It's Thea. I'm coming in." Oliver didn't bother answering; there would be no stopping her. He saw she was only half-ready and instantly he was on alert- there were only 15 minutes left.  
"Is something wrong?" Oliver was terrified that this would get torn away from him (because it would be his and Felicity's wedding that would end up getting crashed by assassins or something).  
"Everything is okay. Felicity just sent me down here because she wants to talk to you; but I REFUSE to let you see her before she is coming down the aisle. So she agreed to talk through her door."  
"Lead the way." Following Thea down the hallway his curiosity was growing. Was this conversation going to be important or was it just Felicity being herself?

After he'd arrived (and then left again 5 minutes later), he was more relaxed. She'd just wanted to talk to him about her nerves and he was pretty sure tried to give him a way out at one point. So now, with a little less than 10 minutes till the ceremony starts he headed downstairs and into the back yard. It wasn't long before the bridal march started and Felicity made her appearance. He was in awe and actually started tearing up; only to hear Roy muttering in the background.  
"Of course he'd cry now. Get shot? No big deal. Get married?..." He didn't get to finish that statement as he realized the look that Oliver was giving him.

When Felicity arrived at the altar, Oliver had no idea what he should say to her, but he knew he wanted to say something.  
"I love you." She whispered as she took his hands. He sighed.  
"I love you too." She squeezed his hands and with a smile they turned to face the officiant.


	22. Different

When Oliver had first returned from Lian Yu he tried to hide his vigilantism behind the mask of the man he used to be, tried to hide the killer he'd become from his family. When he'd finally revealed himself to Diggle his fears were confirmed. Diggle couldn't be involved with what Oliver was doing and had left. It took some effort, but Oliver convinced him to come back. And then he'd met Felicity. She was a puzzle to both men. She'd come in and handled the reveal well, and then helped them and chose to stay on. Originally, Oliver thought that she would be complicit to his missions… until she locked him in the Lair and refused to let him go out and kill the name on the list. When she'd finally let him go to see the man and, upon his return, was able to tell her that the man was still alive- the change was kick-started.

Over time she continued to act as a moral compass for him, and he was more than happy to follow what she said (at least after he'd realized that letting someone live made him feel just a little better; like a little blood had been washed off his hands, even if just for a little while).

When they'd started dating he'd heard the whispers of people wondering how such a smart girl could fall for Oliver's charm. He was feeling guilty about it- at least he was until he walked into Queen Consolidated and found Felicity defending his honor to whoever had made a comment to her. When they got engaged it got even worse. That week Oliver broke a lot of equipment, and Felicity finally got fed up with it.

He'd come in after a mission to find her talking to Thea up at the bar.  
"I mean why can't people understand that Oliver is a different man then he was 6 years ago? I mean every time I think Oliver actually sees himself as what he is these…people go and say things and all of a sudden all the progress is lost." She went quiet again. He could only assume that Felicity and Thea were still talking, Felicity just wasn't using her loud voice anymore. When he heard Felicity's heels clicking on the floor towards the lair he went back out and around to the back. She was just taking a seat when he reached the bottom of the stairs, but she spun to face him.  
"Hey." She smiled at him like she always did; like the conversation upstairs hadn't happened. Oliver rushed over to her and kissed her. When he pulled back, he didn't let go of her, instead he kept eye contact.  
"I love you."  
"Uhm…did you almost die and not tell me?" She asked him, on alert instantly.  
"No. I just wanted to remind you that I did…" He paused. "And that you are the reason that I've accepted that someone could love me." Felicity could feel tears building up in her eyes.  
"Really?" Her voice was shaky.  
"Yes." It was one simple word, but it still made her cry (happy tears of course). And she didn't cry that hard again until their wedding day.


	23. Enthralled

It took nearly two days before Oliver asked Felicity for another chance. It would have been one day, but Felicity had been angry and left within 15 minutes of his arrival, and Diggle refused to let him go after her.  
"What you don't seem to understand Oliver, is that she just spent the last two weeks grieving, while doing both jobs, and trying to keep it all together for everyone else." He gestured in Oliver's direction. "And now that she finally seems to have accepted that you were gone, and she'd never have another chance, you show up."  
"Okay, okay. I get it." Oliver spoke; Diggle pretended to believe him.

It was late before Digg and Roy finally left Oliver alone. Within half an hour he snuck out and went to Felicity's house. He had planned to circle the house first to do a check, but he could see a light on through a big window in the front- so he just walked straight up to the door and knocked.

Felicity answered the door.  
"What are you doing here?" She glared.  
"I needed to talk to you."  
"You should have said it before you went to DIE." She went to shut the door, but Oliver stuck his foot in it.  
"Give me five minutes." Felicity groaned.  
"Fine." She stepped back and let him in.

Oliver didn't give her a chance to say anything before he could.  
"Look. Felicity. I took the chance, and screwed up. Plus, I saw you and Ray and when I figured that I would be headed off to die I had to take the chance." She shoved him.  
"I knew you knew that you were going to die!"  
"Look. I screwed up, but everything I've told you is true. I've been enthralled from the moment I met you." She opened her mouth. "And not just because you were the first person I saw as an actual person." He paused. "You know it was probably the red pen." Felicity blushed. "Look. I wanted to ask you out for another date, but Digg was right. I should wait for a couple more days." He turned to leave before pausing. "You will give me another chance right?"  
"Yeah. I will. Go home and sleep. I'm guessing you haven't lately." He hesitated another moment. "Go!" Felicity pushed him out the door. "Come see me tomorrow afternoon and we can talk more. Okay?" He smiled; as did she.  
"Okay."


	24. Pillow Fort

It was a rather calm night for Team Arrow, leaving the four of them to just hang out in the Lair and train or do side jobs. At least they were until they found that Felicity had disappeared. It was Roy who noticed first.  
"Uh guys have you seen Felicity?" Both of the other men shot to attention before glancing at her desk to note that she was, in fact, gone. The three boys glanced around the lair, before splitting up.

Oliver was the one to find her. She'd tucked herself inside a pile of couch cushions, blankets, and pillows. He bent down to the little opening in the front and peeked inside to find her curled up around her tablet.  
"Felicity." He called gently into her little cave. She shifted just enough to look up at him. "Can I come in?" She nodded.

It took a minute for him to actually get inside, the opening was Felicity-sized, not Oliver-sized, but he managed to get in.  
"So what is this?" He asked, settling back against one of the pillows. She gasped.  
"It's a pillow fort!" Oliver blinked. "Oh my god. You have to have built at least ONE pillow fort as a kid. Maybe with Thea?" Oliver thought back to the few years of Thea's childhood he actually was a part of.  
"Maybe we did once or twice." He paused. "Building wasn't exactly Thea's favorite thing to do."  
"I am not surprised." Oliver glanced around the little area, taking in every detail he could.  
"When you were younger, you built pillow forts a lot didn't you?"  
"I had to. I would build these forts in my bedroom, but every couple of days my mom would spend enough time at home that she'd notice the missing couch cushions and then she would make me put them back." She paused, smiling at a memory. "Of course as soon as she'd left the next day I'd go and get them all again and build another one." Oliver chucked, imagining a little girl sneaking couch cushions up the stairs every few days.  
"You're adorable." Felicity was about to speak again, when they were interrupted by Digg and Roy yelling Oliver's name.  
"Shit. I forgot about them." He moved closer to the 'door'. "Sorry guys. I found her. I just got distracted." He just barely heard Roy muttering in the background.  
"Oh I bet he got distracted." Oliver growled loudly at the statement, but it was obvious that they heard him when the two burst out laughing.


	25. Pain

When Ray needed Felicity to come to Central City with him, Oliver pretended that it only bothered him because they needed her for a mission, but Roy and Diggle knew it was really because Felicity was spending time with Ray out of town. The trip was supposed to be the length of a long weekend of 4 days, so by the evening of the second day Oliver was practically radiating anxiety.

The team was just getting ready for a patrol when Oliver's cell phone rang. He hadn't heard from Felicity since she left, so no one was surprised when he answered, not bothering to check the caller id.  
"Hello?"  
"Queen?" Oliver tensed up at the voice of Ray Palmer on the line.  
"What's wrong? Is Felicity okay?"  
"Well…actually she's the reason I'm calling." Oliver growled, getting the attention of Roy and Digg.  
"What did you do to her?!" Ray started stumbling over his words. "Look. I will be there as soon as I can." He hung up. "Guys change of plan. We're going to Central City- apparently Palmer fucked up."

Even with a train, it took them nearly two hours to reach Central City and Oliver was getting twitchier by the minute. They arrived to find Ray pacing the waiting room.  
"Oliver. I'm so sor…" He was cut off when Oliver punched him.  
"Where is she?"  
"She's got a room in the back. I can take you…" He was interrupted again.  
"I will find it myself." He turned to Roy and Digg. "I'm going to go see her." They nodded and took seats next to Ray.

It didn't take Oliver long to find Felicity's room. Rushing in, he found her sitting on a bed.  
"Felicity!" Her head shot up.  
"Hey Oliver." She smiled. He watched her, checking for the obvious injuries until her saw the wrap on her arm.  
"Are you okay? They gave you something for the pain right?" Felicity smiled.  
"I'm okay. I promise." He sat down next to her on the bed.  
"What did Palmer do?" She gripped her hand.  
"He didn't do anything!" Oliver narrowed his eyes. "Oliver. I promise that it wasn't his fault. We were at S.T.A.R Labs. You've seen how things can get on a regular basis and this time we had Cisco, Barry, Wells, AND Palmer. I'm sure you can guess who things went."  
"Well…what happened?"  
"Nothing big. Just a wayward beam from a laser-y thing." She could see Oliver was about to speak again. "It's okay. I swear! Just a minor burn. Can you get me out of here?"  
"Of course. He stood up and grabbed her hand. "You're coming back home to Starling though. Palmer can finish his little trip on his own." She had to cover her smirk; he looked so grumpy whenever he said something about Palmer.  
"Sure Oliver. Whatever you say." He led her back to the waiting room and the rest of the team.


	26. Fear

So basically part of 2x9 (i think it was 9), but some dialogue is not exact, etc. I didn't have time to watch the scene and I couldn't find the quotes on their own.

* * *

Once the Count found her QC security badge, she knew she was in trouble. He held her at gun point, until they reached the top floor and were sitting in Oliver's office. She wasn't sure when he'd figured it out- but he knew. He knew that Oliver Queen was the Arrow, and now, while she was tied to an office chair, he was calling him from her phone. He didn't even bother to move when he made the call, but she had no idea what he said. He kept touching her hair or her neck and she'd lost the ability to focus on anything else.

It was less than 10 minutes later that the Arrow put in an appearance. Felicity couldn't do anything besides worrying while the Count shot at Oliver. It took Felicity by surprise when she was pulled out of her chair and away from where Oliver was still standing. She breathed a sigh of relief that Oliver wasn't dead or something, but it wasn't over yet.

She could see the fear in Oliver's eyes as she was pulled further away from him. She remembered yelling at Oliver, telling him not to kill; that she wasn't worth breaking his promise. She couldn't remember exactly what was said between the two men after that, but she could certainly remember when Oliver started to lower his bow. She could feel the impending descent of needles and she knew what it'd mean. She could see Oliver watching carefully as the Count continued threatening. The next thing she knew there was a loud crash behind her and she was on the ground. It was Oliver's voice that brought her back to the present- just as he was doing now.

She'd been lost in a bit of a drug haze and it took a minute for her brain to remember that she was safe in the lair. Oliver had come by to double check on her before he got ready to leave. She told him she was fine, but it wasn't until he started to walk away that she came after him.  
"Oliver." He stopped and turned. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry." Oliver's brow furrowed in confusion.  
"For what?"  
"I got myself in trouble and you had to rescue me. You killed again and I'm sorry that I was the one that put you in a position where you had to make that kind of choice." Oliver grabbed her hand.  
"Felicity. He had you and he was going to hurt you. There was NO choice to make." She gave him a small smile and he turned to leave. She was left alone in the lair, but she didn't bother going home yet. She wasn't ready to face anything yet, so instead she lost herself in one of her coding projects.


	27. Failed

Felicity always liked to comment on how much the members of Team Arrow had changed over the years. Some days Oliver would enter the Foundry and hear her talking to herself; other days she was talking about one of the boys. There was one day that he'd come in to her and Diggle laughing about past Roy; the one who had stolen Thea's purse way back when. Roy was never around when Felicity would talk about him, but it was probably better that way. She liked to talk about him becoming Arsenal- and that was something that would make Roy blush. She didn't really talk about Digg; he was still very much the same man as before (with some minor differences) and she never talked about herself.

When Oliver would listen to her talk, sometimes he'd pick up information on the other two men; things that he hadn't known about them. He would listen intently, waiting for her to share anything about her past, but she never did.

One night Oliver walked into the Arrow Cave to laughter. He paused for a moment; just some minor eavesdropping.  
"Do you remember when he had his catch phrase?" He heard Digg chuckle. And then SHE spoke, attempting to copy his Arrow voice, with no luck whatsoever.  
"You've failed this city." He heard Roy lose it.  
"Did he really do that?" Digg must have nodded because he never heard an answer.

As he moved down the stairs, he could hear the three of them moving around as well. So when he reached the bottom, Felicity was at her computers, Digg was cleaning his gun, and Roy was nowhere to be found.  
"Hey." Felicity greeted him with a smile- just as she always did. Digg never said anything before he left and Oliver never saw Roy that night, so as soon as it was just him and Felicity he pulled a chair up behind her. He touched her shoulder (he didn't even bother calling her name anymore) and she jumped.  
"Jeez Oliver. You scared the crap out of me."  
"Sorry. Would you tell me something?" Felicity looked at him, confusedly.  
"Like what?"  
"I've heard you talking about how we all have changed since I started this." Felicity opened her mouth. "And yes I heard you trying to copy my voice." Felicity shut her mouth. "I just wonder why you never say anything about yourself. I know you don't talk about the past, but this is something we're involved in; we know the stories." Felicity considered it.  
"I can't say anything because I am me. I can talk about you guys because I've watched you change and I've been an observer to that process. Looking at yourself is a completely different story." Oliver reached out and took her hand.  
"Well. Can I tell you something about you then?" Felicity shrugged. "You may not have changed like Roy or I did, but there is no way that you are the same Felicity Smoak I originally met. You don't take shit, and you're tougher. Just everything about you has gotten better, because it's who you are." He paused. "I'm sure you remember what I said about her." He gave her a small smile and stood up.  
"I'm going to sleep. Don't stay up all night doing that."  
"Okay. Good night Oliver."  
"Night Felicity."

Really he shouldn't have been surprised that when he woke up in the middle of the night, that she was still there.


	28. Rain

Felicity and Oliver were alone in the lair, listening to the rain fall on the metal ceiling two floors above them. There wasn't really any reason for them to be here- except that Oliver won't go out. So she let him brood in the corner for a little while until she finished a project. And then she moved over to get him.  
"Get up Grumpy. We are going to go outside."  
"No." She crouched down next to him so he couldn't avoid meeting her eyes.  
"Pretty please? I promise it'll be fun." He gave her a look so she groaned and flopped down next to him. "I haven't played in the rain since I was a little kid." He didn't respond. She was going to have to change tactics.

She shifted so she was sitting just in front of him.  
"Oliver." She spoke softly, hoping it'd catch his attention. Which it did.  
"What Felicity?" He looked her in the eyes; less grumpy than they were, but still showing distaste.  
"I am going to go out in the rain. I wanted to share this with you, but if you don't want to, then fine." She stood up. "Honestly though, I'm more surprised that you are letting me out in the Glades by myself at night." Oliver shot up and was next to her in seconds. He saw the smirk she was trying to hide.

He was getting a coat when she stopped him.  
"Oh no. Coats are prohibited." He gave her another look. "Do you want to end up going home in a wet coat? I don't think so." He conceded to her point and followed her up to the back door. Outside they watched the rain for a moment before Felicity moved out into the rain. He waited, watching her laugh as she stared up to the sky; he wasn't sure that he'd ever seen her look more beautiful than she did right now. So he moved out into the rain.

She was facing away from him so she didn't realize he'd moved until he caught her around the waist; spinning her around to face him. He couldn't help but imitate the smile she was giving him. He pulled her as close as possible and leaned down to whisper in her ear; watching her shiver as her body reacted to his warm breath in the cold.  
"Don't think I don't know what you did back there. You're just lucky that I want to take care of you."  
"And because you love me." He smiled.  
"Yeah. That too." He kissed her, in the middle of Verdant's parking lot.


	29. Lace

Sorry this is so short and kind of rushed. My spring semester stared yesterday, so today was a big homework/figure out what the hell is going on day.

* * *

Felicity came down the stairs to find Oliver working out. She couldn't help rolling her eyes.  
"Oliver!" He stopped, staring intently at, what could only be described as a beauty, on the staircase. He was pulled out of his thoughts by her voice.  
"Don't tell me you forgot about the charity event tonight." He gave her a sheepish look. "Why am, I not surprised." She wandered off towards her computers. "Now go get ready!"

Even with Oliver's delay they managed to arrive just in time. As usual, Felicity didn't know… just about everyone who was there. It was like every time she came to one of these, there was a whole new group of people. She stuck to Oliver's side as he wandered through the crowd, greeting people as they went. At some point he'd appeared with two drinks and handed one to her. She'd stepped off to the side and leaned against one of the walls to sip her wine. It was a bit sweet, but still rather good. She didn't bother really moving after that; just leaning against the wall, keeping an eye on Oliver. She wasn't sure how much time had passed when her eyelids started to fell heavy, and when she went to move she collapsed.

Oliver hadn't been watching Felicity, instead, he was actually giving almost all his attention to those who approached him. Or at least he had been until he had a strange sense that something was wrong with Felicity.  
"I'm sorry. I need to go check on someone." The person acknowledged his excuse and turned to someone else. Oliver let his eyes trying to find her; his tension increasing when he didn't. He was trying to remember where he left her when someone came up and gently touched his elbow. He whipped around.  
"Mr. Queen." He found a woman standing there; one he could just recognize as another CEO's EA. "Felic… Ms. Smoak passed out. We moved her into a side room, but we didn't know who to call or anything. Do you know?"  
"Don't worry. I'll take care of it."

He didn't waste any time in having the woman direct him to the room they'd put Felicity in and rushing to her side. Her eyes were open and she was rambling; though she stopped when she saw him.  
"Oliver!" He was unsure of her at the moment; she sounded like she was drunk, but she'd never do that at an event like this. Then it hit him- someone had drugged her. He pulled out his cellphone and dialed Diggle.  
"Digg, Call Roy and tell him to go out and see if anything big is happening anywhere in the city. Then bring the car around" He paused. "Someone drugged Felicity."

It only took a few hours for the drug to where off after that got back, and Roy had found just a glimpse of something that could be coming in the next couple days. Off to the side, Felicity rolled over on the couch, groaning.  
"Ugh. Why do I feel like I'm hung over."  
"You were drugged. Someone laced your water with something…" She interrupted him.  
"Why would someone lace MY drink?" Oliver looked at her and frowned.  
"I have no idea."


	30. Happy

_Really rather short, but I wasn't incredibly inspired (plus this gives me more time to work on the next chapter of To Prove Oneself)_

* * *

The vigilante life had been hard on all of Team Arrow this past week, so Oliver was savoring the time he had to curl up with Felicity on the couch. The TV was on in the background, but he wasn't paying attention to what was on; instead he was watching Felicity watch TV. He couldn't help constantly watching her; her blonde hair spread behind her, allowing him to run his hands through it, or that she was warm and snuggled up to him. He tried to appreciate these moments as much as he could because they almost always came after a tough week in the Lair, and before a little cycle of brooding/self-loathing started in him. He ran his hand down the side of her face.  
"Felicity." She rolled over to make eye contact.  
"What Oliver?"  
"You're happy right?" She sat up, but only to sit in his lap and look at him. She gently placed her hands on either side of his face.  
"Of course I am. Every time you've asked me the answer has never changed. I wouldn't be here if I wasn't happy."  
"Uhh Felicity… this is your house." She glanced around.  
"Oh yeah." She was lost in her thoughts for a moment. "Anyway. It doesn't change my answer. I love you."  
"I love you too." She wasn't sure what was different this time, but his brooding cycle didn't seem to last as long.

After that he continued to increase his public affection for her. It finally seemed like he was getting it through his thick skull that she wasn't ever planning to just up and leave him. Once he recognized that, everything ran much smoother than before, marking about the millionth time Diggle thanked his lucky stars that Felicity had come into their lives.


End file.
